Rosie Ruby
by M. Beth Tora
Summary: There was hardly a moment that I didn't think about him. Even if I tried not to think about him, my thoughts some how ended up going in that direction. It was as if my whole world revolved around him. Johnny/OC  Rating may go up later.
1. Cravings

I never thought I could hate a person as much as I hated the girl sitting next to me. It was as though her whole existence was based on royally ticking people off. Or maybe it was just me thinking that it was. But this girl really wouldn't shut up. She kept yammering on about how I should go hang out with her and her hippy-dippy friends after school and how wonderful it was to live on the North side of town and all that jazz. In all honesty, I just wanted to smack her with my textbook and put her out of my misery. Er, I mean, her misery. Wait, no, I really do mean _my_ misery.

"So are you gonna come with us?" she asked me. She was practically beaming, her blue eyes glistened and her straight hair slipped over her shoulder as she leaned towards me in joyful anticipation. My urge to introduce her face to my math book was becoming unbearable, but I knew it wasn't lady-like to knock the teeth out of another lady's mouth. Luckily, the bell rang.

"Sorry, but I have a date with a chocolate-shake down at the soda fountain after school. And I've had to keep pushing back this date for a while, and you know how those milk-shakes hate to be ignored," I said with a smile as I packed my things and waltzed out of the classroom. I heaved a sigh of relief as I walked down the hall towards the entrance and exit of the school.

My first day of school was probably the worst first day of school I've ever had. No brained paper shakers trying to become my friend, cookie-cutter ken doll guys trying to pick me up, and that epically awkward introduction of who I was in homeroom. Normally I can handle one of those things a day, but all at once? Not a chance. But the day before I had seen this boss looking soda fountain, and I had been epically craving a chocolate shake ever since I had moved to Tulsa. So I decided to mosey on over to where I had seen it. On the way, I spotted a group of fine looking boys across the street. And by fine, I mean I wanted to kiss every single one of them, and I had never kissed a boy before.

I don't ever recall seeing boys like them in California, they all seemed to look very similar, and yet different. They all wore jackets and t-shirts on top and jeans and convers or boots of one kind or another. Another thing that had caught my attention was their hair. All of them had their hair slicked back and none had look liked they had seen a bottle of shampoo in quite a while. All of them were chatting and joking with each other, some sitting on a car, some on the sidewalk, and some standing I don't think I realized I had stopped walking until I noticed I wasn't going anywhere. I was about to start walking before I noticed one of them had spotted me; he nudged his friend next to him and nodded in my direction. Soon, they were all looking my way.

"Like what you see, dolly?" one of them called. They all laughed, some jeered and joked more. I wasn't sure how to respond. I always thought I was cute, but I wasn't sure anyone else thought I was. The second guy who spotted me separated from the crowd and headed my way, hands jammed in his pockets.

"Sorry about them, they're a bunch of knuckle heads. They don't mean nothin' by it," he apologized with a smile. I smiled back with a shrug.

"It's actually kind of flattering. Y'all are the first not-creepy friendly faces I've seen all day, and I've seen a lot," I responded.

"That's aweful nice of you to say considering we're not what most girls like you want to be around," he said as he itched his nose idly before shoving his hand back into his pocket.

"I don't see why. You guys seem like a good group and the Barbies and Kens I've been running into all day have been driving me up the wall." This seemed to humor him, 'cause he laughed.

"You're unreal! I would have thought you were a soc or something. How about you come hang with us; we won't bite. Well, except Steve and Dally, but they don't bite hard. I'm Ponyboy, by the way. What were you saddled with?" he said with a grin.

"My name is Rose, but my friends back home called me Ruby on account of my hair," I introduced, brushing part of my trademark dark red curly hair behind my ear.

"Alright, Ruby. Lemme introduce you to the guys," Ponyboy said before heading back to the group with me close at his heels.

"Looks like you got a tag-along, kid," one of the guys said when we joined the group.

"Aw, be nice- she's had to deal with stupidity all day," Ponyboy responded, playfully punching the guy in the arm.

"And you brought her to us?" another one said, causing the group to laugh.

"Put a sock in it. This is Ruby, she just moved here," Ponyboy introduced me. "Ruby, these are the guys; Dally, Two-Bit, Steve and Johnny. Then there are my brothers Darry and Sodapop." Each boy nodded or signaled when their name was said.

"She's a cutie," Steve said with a grin.

"Shut up you. You have a girlfriend, remember?" Sodapop said, smacking Steve upside the head.

"I didn't mean anything by it! I was just sayin' she might be good for one of the ankle-biters," Steve said in his defense.

"Don't go callin' my kid brother and ankle-biter," Darry warned, and they both shut up.

"Where'd you come from, Ruby?" Johnny asked.

"I came from San Diego, California. My dad had business over here, so we all moved here," I explained.

"I've always wanted to go to Hollywood, seems like a real tuff place to be," Dally said as he lit up a cigarette.

"Did ya live close to the beach or anything?" Ponyboy asked.

"I lived about 15 minuets away from the beach, it was nice. I could go whenever I felt like it," I replied, kind of liking the attention I was getting. Boys never talked to me back home, they didn't like girls like me.

"Do you have a boyfriend back home?" Darry inquired, basically shutting down everyone's hopes, or that's what it looked like for a moment.

"Naw, I wasn't tan enough or tall enough for the boys back home. Plus, boys in California don't like smart girls," I said with a shrug.

"That's stupid. It shouldn't matter how smart they are, if a girl likes you- you should go out with them," Ponyboy said with a huff.

"Don't ever dumb yourself down for a guy. You'll be lying to yourself," Johnny said with a nod. I nodded in understanding.

"Hey, do you guys wanna go get a little something? I've been dying for a chocolate milkshake ever since I got off the plane," I asked, hoping they wouldn't mind stopping somewhere and letting me satisfy my craving.

"Sure thing, Ruby. There is this Dairy Queen where no soc's will bother us," Darry said as everyone started to stand up and get ready to head over. He then looked at his watch. "Ah shit. I actually have to head back to work, I'll see you guys later." And with that, Darry headed off.


	2. Dairy Queen

So the seven of us moseyed over to the Dairy Queen in question and I managed to get my chocolate shake. I was nestled between Johnny and Ponyboy, and we sat across from the others.

"So what drew you to us rather than the soc's?" Steve asked as he munched on a chilidog.

"To be honest, the others didn't seem all that bright. And although you guys keep saying you aren't the smartest bunch, you seem a bit more well rounded than that group," I explained before noticing Johnny looking at the shake in my hand. "You want some? I don't have cooties or anything." The dark haired boy smiled before timidly taking the glass from my hand and taking a sip out of it before handing it back.

"Yeah, well, we're not necessarily the best guys to be hanging around with. I mean, we are greasers," Sodapop admitted with a shrug.

"What do you mean?" I asked, kind of confused by these 'soc's' and 'greacers'. Two-Bit ran his fingers through his hair before smearing his hand against my face.

"EWWWWWW!" I was totally grossed out by the slimy feeling on the side of my face. The guys all laughed and Ponyboy got a napkin and helped clean off my face.

"We have grease in our hair, thus we are called greasers. Basically, anyone who lives on the south side is a greaser. Anyone who lives on the north side is a soc," Sodapop explained.

"So basically anyone who looks like they should be in the Barbie isle of any toy store is a soc?" I asked once my face was clean of any grease.

"Yes, ma'am. That is why we thought you were a soc, you look pretty clean cut and primped up- even up close," Steve confirmed with a nod. I took out my palm-sized mirror and looked myself over. My hair was soft looking and definitely looked clean and held back by my head band, my make-up was put on neatly, not covering my freckles- I just looked… well, in my opinion, I just looked presentable.

"What about me says 'soc'?" I asked.

"Your hair."

"Your clothes."

"The way you stand."

"The way you talk."

"The way you sit."

"Your shoes."

Each guy seemed to have something to point out. I was a bit confused when it came to the manner of my posture of my vocabulary, but they had a point about what I was currently wearing.

"Well, I have different clothes. But my mom insisted on me wearing a skirt on my first day of school," I said before giving Johnny the rest of my milkshake, which he seemed to gladly consume.

"You might wanna be careful around guys, and I don't just mean soc's. If you make yourself too cute I don't think we could resist the temptation," Sodapop said jokingly.

"Then I'll hang around guys who don't just like me because I'm cute," I responded, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Then you won't hang out with anyone. Everyone'll think you're cute," Dally said with a smirk.

"I wanna hang out with a guy who thinks I'm cute and who wants to get to know me. I don't need another guy staring at my chest and behind all day," I retorted before giving Dally the bird.

"Then you pro'lly want Johnny and Pony. They're deep kids, they'll care more about your insides than your outsides," Sodapop said, nodding towards the two sitting next to me.

"I'm more interested in the inside of your skirt," Two-Bit cracked before being smacked upside the head by Sodapop.

"Don't listen to him, Ruby. You can hang out with us," Johnny piped up after finishing my shake.

"Thanks Johnny, that's mighty sweet of you," I said before quickly pecking him on the cheek. Most of the boys 'Ooooh'ed and made cat calls, but I ignored them.

"Don't I get a kiss?" Ponyboy asked with a grin.

"Sure, you haven't said anything perverted to me yet," I said before kissing him on the cheek as well.

"Aw shucks, if I didn't have a girlfriend, I'd ask for one too," Sodapop said with a laugh. The other guys laughed as well.

"Well I recon Pony and Johnny are closer to my age. You boys are too old for me," I retorted with a pout.

"How old are you then?" Steve asked.

"I just turned 15," I answered before taking out some money. "Can one of you guys get me a dilly bar? I want some more chocolate," I said holding up my quarter. Ponyboy took it and scooted out of the booth before heading over to the cash register.

"He's just bein' nice to you 'cause you gave him a kiss," Dally said with a huff.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were jealous," I said with a smirk.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're into me," Dally retorted. I, once again, responded by giving him the bird. The other guys laughed as Ponyboy came back with my dilly bar.

"Come on, Dally. Leave her alone," he said, trying to defend me. Dally didn't say anything as he leaned back in his seat. Ponyboy gave me back the change and I looked at it.

"Ponyboy, how about you get yourself and Johnny a little something with the rest of this," I said, handing him back the change. He smiled before looking at his counterpart. "What do ya want, Johnny?"

"I'unno, get me a chocolate dipped cone or somethin'," the dark haired teen responded. With that, I treated my friends to some chocolate sweets.

Author Notes: Sorry it's short. But I'm running out of ideas. But I do have the romance scene done! :D


	3. Mending Denim

As the days went on, it seemed as though I was becoming laced into the group bit by bit. I would sit around and watch them play football or walk around and talk with them about stuff- you know, things like that. But as Sodapop had probably predicted, I was usually with Ponyboy and Johnny. It was nice to be around boys close to my age. They were going through some of the same things I was. And with Ponyboy, I managed to be able to do homework with him. Things were working out pretty well.

"Aw man! I can't walk around like this!" Dally said when one of the guys pointed out that there was a whole in the butt of his pants while we were at the Curtis residence. I rolled my eyes and dug through my purse.

"Take 'em off and I'll fix them up good as new," I said once I found a needle and thread.

"Sure you don't just wanna see what's in my pants?" Dally joked.

"The last thing I want to see is your dick, now unless you wanna walk around with a hole on your butt, give me your pants," I said holding out my hand. He huffed and took of his jeans (luckily he had underwear underneath) and handed them to me. I looked at the offending whole before threading my needle.

"Give me five minuets," I said as I began stringing together the pants. It was rather quiet while I did my work, which was odd for this group. I looked up to find most of them intensely watching me sew.

"What?" I asked before going back to my task.

"Never had someone fix jeans before," Ponyboy said, probably not looking up from my diligently working fingers.

"How are you not pricking yourself?" Johnny asked. I held up one of my hands to show I had pricked myself a few times.

"It's not hard once you learn how to do it, but you're always gonna prick yourself, especially when you work with material like jeans," I said before licking my finger and tightening the thread, thus closing the whole. I made sure it was extremely secure before tying it up and handing it to Dally.

"It should hold until… well, basically when your jeans fall apart, that's gonna be the only part that stays together," I said as I put away my sewing kit. Dally put on his jeans and felt them up, but didn't say anything. I sucked on my pricked finger and leaned back in my seat. Johnny took off his jacket and set it on my lap. I looked at it to find several small holes in it.

"This might take longer," I said before taking out my needle and thread (again) and beginning to stitch up the holes. I put a little more care into this job, not quite sure why, but for some reason I just felt like this should be done with love in every stitch. I couldn't help but smile as I tied up the last whole, very satisfied with my work. I looked at the jacket to see if I had missed anything, but it was a very good job. When I looked up how ever, everyone looked like there was something they wanted to give me.

The next hour or so was spent mending denim, which was something I never thought I'd really have to do. It was actually kind of shocked at how many holes these boys had in there stuff. I mended pockets, closed holes, tightened runs (how ever the hell one gets runs in their jeans is beyond me), and hemmed pant legs. When all was said and done, the boys practically had new wardrobes and I had a band-aid on every finger.

"This is awesome, now whenever we mess up our stuff, you can fix it!" Steve said as he ran his hands over his newly fixed jeans.

"Or I could make you stuff. I'm not only good at mending things," I said when I put my nearly empty spool of thread and my needle back into my purse.

"Sorry you had to prick all your fingers though," Johnny apologized, looking at my hands.

"Oh, it's fine. I'll be right as rain in the morning. Besides, all you boys are looking mighty slick in your clothes now that they're all fixed up," I said with a smile. "Thank you for your concern though, Johnny."

"He and Ponyboy worry about everyone, I swear they'll have gray hairs by the time their 18," Dally joked as he got up.

"Better than you. It wouldn't hurt you to care about someone other than yourself," I responded, swinging my ankle as to get the feeling back to my foot. The blond gave me the bird before waltzing out the door. "YOU'RE WELCOME!" I called out, having half a mind to go and rip his jeans, but knowing I probably couldn't do it.

"Hey Soda, you think it'd be okay if Ruby, Johnny and me go hang out?" Ponyboy asked his older brother, who was venturing into the kitchen.

"Be back before dark, or if you decide to see a movie or something, call me before you go," the older teen called out before being joined by Steve. Pony and Johnny got up and helped me up (probably out of instinct or something) and we all headed out.

Authors Note: Alright, so anyone who writes to me and tells me why Rose's nick name is "Ruby" will get a sneek peek at the first romance scene that is going to be in this fan-fiction! :3 Enjoy! (Hint: It's in Chapter 1)


	4. Movies

The three of us walked out of the Curtis residence and began roaming around town. I'm not sure if it was out of protection or what, but we always ended up walking with me having a boy on either side of me. And whenever they felt uncomfortable about something (like a soc car passed by or whatever) we ended up walking practically shoulder to shoulder or one of the guys would throw his arm around my shoulder while the other would be wrapped around my waist. And once I had arms around me, normally we walked like that until we reached our destination or when someone let go, which was normally Ponyboy around my shoulders.

"So what are we gonna do now?" I asked as we walked.

"I dunno. What do you wanna do, Ruby?" Ponyboy asked as he shoved his hands in his pockets.

"I'm good with whatever you guys wanna do," I responded before spotting some soc's. The guys must have spotted them too, because they quickly resumed the "protect Ruby" positions. We all looked at the ground as we walked, making sure not to make eye contact as we passed. I heard what one of the girls whispered to her boyfriend.

"Why is she hanging out with those greasers? Are they bullying her?" I was rather offended by that statement. Pony and Johnny wouldn't hurt a fly unless they really needed to. But then again, I had never seen them have to fight anyone or anything unless it was playful.

"That was close, but I don't think they'd fight with their girls around," Ponyboy said, dropping his arm away from my shoulder.

"What normally happens if the girl is around?" I asked, looking between them.

"Normally all the girls will either start a separate cat fight or they'll get into their boyfriend's cars," Pony explained as he shoved his hands in his pockets before looking over at Johnny. "You can let her go now, Johnny."

"I don't wanna yet. She's got a good holding waist," the dark haired boy said, hugging me slightly. I smiled and snaked my arm around his waist before returning the gesture.

"If you two keep that up, people are gonna start thinking that you two are together," Pony said before looking into one of the stores.

"Aw come on, Ponyboy. You know you're just jealous," Johnny joked as we waited for Pony

"I get as much of Ruby as you do, why would I be jealous?" Pony replied, rolling his eyes before pushing himself away from the store window and continuing to walk. We kept on like this for a while, walking and talking. It felt nice to be just with these two, I could unwind with them.

"Can I tell you guys a secret?" I asked as we walked over to the park.

"Sure you can, Ruby. We won't tell nobody," Pony said as he climbed up onto the monkey bars before helping me up.

"I've never really kissed a boy before," I confessed as I sat between the boys on the monkey bars.

"Aw shucks, Ruby. We've never kissed a girl either," Johnny said as he took out a cigarette and stuck it in his mouth. "Hey, Pony, have a light?" Ponyboy took out a lighter and handed it to his friend, who quickly lit up and handed it back to his friend.

"The girls we're interested in don't like us. I mean, I don't think there are many girls out there who would like guys like us," Ponyboy said as he stretched.

"Hell, if you showed any interest towards me I'd kiss you two in a heart beat. You two are real lookers," I said as I watched the cigarette pass hands over me.

"We didn't know you liked greasers," Pony said before inhaling the toxins of the cigarette between his lips.

"If I weren't, why would I hang out with you guys?" both boys shrugged, almost at the same time. I sighed before looking myself over. I was kind of glad I wasn't wearing a skirt, if I was, then everyone who walked under the monkey bars would be able to see my undies, And it was nice that I was wearing one of the boys t-shirts. I couldn't remember who's it was, but it fit nicely and went with my pink Capri's and my scarf (or was it an ascot? I can't remember). I leaned over and kissed Ponyboy on the cheek before leaning over to my other side and kissing Johnny. They both looked at me before looking at each other. As if getting the same unspoken idea, they both leaned over and kissed my cheeks at the same time. I couldn't help but blush and hug them.

"I love you guys. You're the greatest," I said with a smile on my face.

Later, we all headed to the nearest pay phone and called Soda to let him know that we had decided to head over to the passion pit to go watch a movie. It was the first time I had been with the guys this long.

"So what movie are we gonna see?" I asked as we walked.

"We'll see what they've got up when we get there. But what kind of movie to you wanna watch?" Ponyboy asked, throwing the butt of his cigarette away.

"I dunno, nothing scary or anything. I'll be up all night," I replied.

"Aw, you don't have to worry about nothin, we'll protect you," Johnny said before we all stopped. I looked around to see what was going on. Ponyboy dropped down and slid under a gap under the fence.

"The drive in is gonna loose money this way," I said, as I watched Johnny slip underneath the fence.

"Do you wanna pay for tickets or for popcorn and drinks?" Ponyboy asked, now both boys on the other side of the fence.

"Unlike you boys, I don't like getting dirty," I said, crossing my arms.

"Then climb the fence," Johnny suggested. I looked up to find barbed wires on the top of the fence.

"Ha, that's funny," I said sarcastically.

"Come on, Ruby. It's just a little dirt. It's not like we're asking you to kick a puppy or something," Pony said with a huff. Johnny took off his jacket and slid it under the fence.

"If you but it on backwards, your top won't get dirty and you won't scrape your elbows or nothin," he said as I picked it up. So that's how those holes got there! With a sigh, I slipped on the jacket and shimmied myself under the fence.

After about five minuets, we settled on watching some secret agent movie. It was kind of stupid, but it was better than the REALLY BAD romance movie. Ponyboy had gone off to get popcorn and drinks and I sat next to Johnny. After a few minuets I noticed the same soc's from earlier were sitting two rows in front of us and they kept looking back at us and whispering stuff.

"Why do they keep looking back at us?" I asked Johnny, who had been watching the movie. He looked down to see who I was talking about before looking back up.

"You look like a soc. It's not common for soc girls and greasers to hang out," he explained before Ponyboy came back with popcorn and drinks. After that, we were all quiet as we watch the movie.

Two and a half movies later, we all decided it was time to head out. We were all moseying on over to the Curtis residence when Ponyboy threw his arm over my shoulder and started walking faster. Johnny wrapped his arm around my waist and fell into step with his friend, both kind of rushing me to do the same.

"Hold it, grease!" I heard someone call. We all turned to find that the soc guy had gathered some friends. "What are you up to?" one of them asked, sort of strolling over to us.

"Just heading home after a movie," Ponyboy answered. He sounded less scared than he probably was.

"Sure you're not hustling this cute little girl?" the soc asked, looking me over.

"They're not doing anything to me," I snapped, still not pleased.

"Yeah, she's with us," Pony added, making sure he was between me and the offending soc.

"Why would a nice looking girl like you hang around grease like this?" another one of the guys asked.

"'Cause she's sick of brainless dolts like you," Ponyboy shot, not waiting for me to answer.

"Bet we're smarter than this trash," the second soc said with a sneer.

"I don't care how smart you are or how nice you look. It doesn't matter how nice you look on the outside, it only matter's how nice you are on the inside," I snapped in my friends' defense.

"We'll see just how 'nice' there insides really are when we cut-em open," the first soc said, flicking out a pocket knife.

"Ruby?" Johnny whispered to me.

"Yeah?"

"Run."

Authors Note: Dun, dun, DUUUUN! Yeah, just so you know, I'm not gonna write a fighting scene. Why? Because I suck at righting fighting scenes. But there will be more! I promise! :D


	5. Good Night

I don't think I've ever run that far or that fast in my life. My heart was slamming against my chest and every breath I took felt like I was inhaling thorns. I had run all the way to the Dairy Queen across town. I had originally been on the South Eastern side of town, but now I was on the North Western part of town. As soon as my legs stopped moving, I collapsed and started crying. What had I done? Ponyboy and Johnny were probably fighting off four or five guys that were twice their size! And I just ran, like a scared little kid. But I knew that they wouldn't have let me fight even if I had stayed. So I sat outside of Dairy Queen and sobbed.

I'm not sure how long I sat out there and cried, but soon one of the employees came out.

"Are you Ruby?" they asked me. I turned around and nodded. They went back inside and picked up the phone that had been set on the counter. They talked into it and nodded a few times at what was said before they set the phone back down and came back out. "There is someone on the phone for you." So I got up and came inside before being handed the phone.

"Hello?"

"Dang Ruby! When Johnny said 'run', I don't think he meant all the way across town!" I heard Ponyboy say, sounding kind of out of breath. "We've been looking everywhere for you and calling every place to see where you were!"

"I'm sorry Pony, I didn't mean to make you worry," I said, failing in my attempt to make it sound like I wasn't crying.

"Are you okay, Ruby? Are you hurt or something?" Ponyboy asked, concern deep in his voice.

"Naw, I'm fine Pony. I just got scared for you guys is all. You guys are alright, right?" I asked, wiping away my tears.

"Yeah, we're fine, Ruby. Hey, Johnny wants to talk to you," Ponyboy said before the phone was passed.

"What's wrong Ruby?" Johnny asked as soon as he got on the phone.

"I was just scared that you guys got hurt. I'm sorry I didn't stay to make sure you were okay," I said with a tearful hic-up.

"Naw, naw, Ruby. You did exactly what I wanted you to; you got as far away from there as you could. I'm just surprised that you ran as far as you did. You could give the track team a run for their money," Johnny teased, obviously trying to cheer me up. "Listen, Pony and I are gonna head over there and then we can all have some ice cream or something. So just stay put, okay?" I nodded, but realized he couldn't see it.

"Yeah, Johnny, I'll stay put." And with that we hung up. When I told the employee what was happening, they said it was all good and they were getting paid over time anyway.

Within about 45 minuets, the guys walked through the doors. They were pretty banged up. I ran over to them and hugged and kissed them both (on the cheeks of course).

"You two scared me to death," I said as they hugged me back. Then we all headed over to the counter and we each got something. Once that was done, we got ourselves a booth in the corner.

"Sorry that happened, Ruby. And we didn't mean to scare you. But we're glad you got away alright," Ponyboy said once we sat down.

"I got out okay? I wasn't the one fighting crazed soc's," I said as the employee gave us our ice cream.

"Yeah, but we were worried they might try and grab you and try to brain wash you or something," Johnny said before taking a sip of his chocolate shake.

"It's hard to brainwash me. Besides, I knew you guys wouldn't let anything bad happen to me," I said as I took a bite out of my dilly bar.

We continued to chat and try to calm ourselves down. The fight had sort of shaken us all up. So after we made sure we were composed (and filled with enough sugar that we wouldn't pass out before we got home) we started to head back home, being sure to stay very close together. The closest house was the Curtis residence, and when we peeked inside, we saw Darry and Sodapop waiting up.

"Man, I am gonna get an earful from Darry," Ponyboy groaned. With a deep breath, he opened up the door and all eyes were on us.

"Where the hell have you three been?" Darry snapped. "Do you have any idea what time it is?" I looked at my watch- 2 AM.

"Hey guys and gal, where've you been?" Soda asked with a tired smile.

"We were coming back from the movies and we ran into some soc's. Johnny and I fought them off and Ruby ran off so she would get hurt," Ponyboy explained.

"Yeah, well what she should have done is run to us and tell us what the hell is going on!" Darry snapped.

"How the heck am I supposed to know that?" I asked, feeling like the blame was being pressed onto me. "I've never been around a fight, I don't know what to do! When they told me to run, I ran."

"It's common sense!" Darry snapped.

"No, what's common sense is to run straight to the cops! But I know if I do that you guys will get into trouble," I snapped back. Darry may be bigger and tougher than I am, but I'm not afraid of him.

"Yeah, Dar. She's only been here for a couple of weeks, she couldn't have known what to do," Soda said with a yawn.

"When you were her age you knew to come to us!" Darry shot at his sleepy younger brother.

"Yeah, but when Soda was 15 he was already a greaser and already knew that! We've lived by these rules all our life, Ruby doesn't know any better!" Ponyboy snapped.

That's were the argument really stopped. Darry just told Pony and Soda to go to bed and me to go home.

"Johnny can stay here or go where ever," was his instruction for Johnny. So Johnny decided to walk me home.

"Sorry about Darry. He kind of has to play dad in that family and it's hard on him," Johnny explained as we walked to my house.

"I understand. When my parents weren't home, my sister would get like that with me," I responded with a yawn. We continued to walk, trying to stay awake as we slowly made it to the middle of town, where the middle class kids lived. Johnny was a bit in awe when he looked at our house.

"I would invite you in, but there are still a few things we need to unpack, so it's a bit messy," I said shyly as I took out my house key.

"I don't mind. If you don't, could I maybe borrow your phone? I wanna call someone to drive me back to Pony's house so I don't have to walk alone," Johnny said as I unlocked the door. Instead of answering, I opened the door and let him in. He looked around the house as I guided him to the kitchen, where the phone was.

"My parents are probably asleep, so try to stay quiet," I said as I looked though the fridge to see if there was something I could heat up. Johnny called a few people, but no one could come get him.

"Maybe I could wake up my mom and have her drive you. I don't want you walking home alone," I said as I took his hand and guided him upstairs to where everyone's bedrooms were. I had him stand outside my parents room while I went in. After I woke up my mom and explained the situation, she quietly and quickly got dressed before wordlessly agreeing to take Johnny home.

"Good night Johnny," I said softly as he walked out with my mom to the car.

"Good night Ruby."


	6. A Sleepy Day

The next morning I headed off to school. I had only managed to get in three hours of sleep, so of course I was dead beat. I rubbed my eyes sleepily as I walked slowly to school. My attention was caught when someone mimicked my yawn. I looked behind me to find Ponyboy not to far away.

"How much sleep did you get?" I called over to him. He looked at me and sleepily came closer before answering.

"Four hours. But then I got an earful this morning from Darry. No surprise there," he said before yawning again. "Did Johnny get home okay?"

"I'd like to think so. I woke up my mom and had her drive him home. Or rather where ever he wanted to stay for the night," I said as I leaned against him. "Is it possible to fall asleep while standing?"

"I dunno. But I don't think it'd be smart to try," Ponyboy said through yet another yawn. I smacked him without much energy, so it ended up hardly even pushing him.

"Stop doing that. I'm tired enough as it is and with you yawning every two seconds…" I couldn't finish my sentence, my own yawn was making it hard to talk.

I don't remember much after that. I'm not quite sure we even got to school. I imagine I passed out. Lack of sleep will do that to you. But when I woke up, I was in a grassy lot being shaken.

"I'm up, I'm up, leave me be," I groaned out, smacking the hands that shook me.

"What are you guys doing here?" I opened up my eyes to see Two-Bit and Johnny standing over us. So it had been one of them shaking me.

"I don't remember," I mumbled before stretching. I wasn't feeling much rested, but this grass was very comfortable.

"I don't think we made it to school, Ruby," Ponyboy grumbled as he sat up. "Darry's gonna chew me out when I get home."

"So long as I explained what happened to my mom, she'll probably be okay with it. I mean, she doesn't encourage me missing… you know what? Words are stupid," I said, rolling onto my side and trying to go back to sleep. I soon felt someone lifting me up and holding me close to them.

"Come on sleeping beauty. Let's get you somewhere where people won't be tempted to do anything to you," I heard Two-Bit say. And that's the last thing I remember before falling asleep.

_I like my dreams. Everything is nicer in them. It's like, I have all my friends from Tulsa- but we're all in California. And lately I've been being kissed by a lot of guys in my dreams. It's not real, I know. There is no way in hell I would let Dally kiss me in real life, I would sooner jump of a high dive into a pool of piranha. But in this dream, it was different. I was in Tulsa. In fact, I was in the park. I was sitting on a blanket spread out with food and a basket and what not. It was a picknick, I think. For some reason, I can't see the face of who I'm with. But I have a good time with them. We're laughing and playing with each other. They tickle me and I tickle back. We speak, but I can't hear voices- and yet some how I know what we're saying. And we watch the sunset together. The person I'm sitting with leans close to me, and I lean close to them, and then-_

"Ruby! Wake up!" I open my eyes and it's back to reality. I was now at the Curtis residence, lying on their couch.

"Aw man, I was hoping one of us would have to kiss her in order to wake her up," Two-Bit said jokingly.

"Do it and I'll punch you," I grumbled. Johnny helped me sit up and I noticed all eyes were on me. "What?"

"Your bra is showing," Dally said flatly. I looked down, and sure enough my shirt was escued enough to show my bra. I straightened out my shirt so my bra was no longer visible to the male eye, but the damage had already been done.

"What bra size are you?" Steve asked.

"Do you really want to know?" I asked, rubbing my eye sleepily. Almost every guy in the room nodded. "C36."

"You're kidding right? You look more like you have D's than C's," Dally said in shock. I rolled my eyes and flipped him off.

"Thanks to my body structure, my breasts look big in comparison to the rest of me. Now can we please change the topic?" I asked.

Later I went back to school and grabbed all the homework and classwork Pony and I missed. The rule with my parents is that if I miss school for whatever reason, I got to go back and grab what I missed. And I figured Darry would appreciate me making sure his kid brother stays on top of things. Plus I wanted to make up for bringing him home late last night. So I walked back towards the Curtis house and I noticed some soc girls chatting next to the school fence, they all stopped when they saw me. I did what I would do when I was with the boys; look at the ground in front of me and keep walking.

"Hey, honey! Come here and talk to us!" one of the girls called to me. I looked back over my shoulder and stopped walking.

"You're not gonna bug me about not being a soc are you?" I asked, holding my books close to me.

"Naw, we just want to get some answers," the first girl said, flicking her black hair over her shoulder. I sighed and walked over to them.

"What's a nice girl like you doing hanging around greasers?" she asked, obviously trying to sound nice.

"Ponyboy and Johnny are my friends. They wouldn't do anything to hurt me. If you got to know them you'd see they're real sweet guys," I responded.

"Pony's on the track team, right?" another girl asked, her hair was brown and wavy. "He's kind of quiet, I just figured he's shy."

"He's not shy, he just wants to keep out of trouble. Those boys are like bees, if you don't bother them- they won't bother you," I explained before looking at my watch. "Listen, I gotta go. I need to give this stuff to Pony so he can catch up on his work." The girls smiled and nodded before letting me leave. I quickly headed over to the Curtis house to find Ponyboy and Soda home.

"Hey Pony, I grabbed the work we missed today," I said as I closed the door.

"Thanks, Darry'll be happy that I'm not missing anything," Pony said as he took what I had in my arms.

"Some soc girls were asking about you and Johnny. I told them that you two were like bees," I said as I sat down on the couch and looked at my work.

"What do you mean bees?" Soda asked out of curiosity.

"Well, if you bother bees, they'll sting you. If you leave them alone, they'll leave you alone. That's how you guys are," I said. Soda nodded and grabbed a piece of chocolate cake.

Authors Note: I was actually really tired when I wrote this chapter. So I kind of felt like Ponyboy and Ruby in the beginning of this chapter. There might be another fight scene in the next chapter, and then the romance scene will be up. So if you want to read it before I post it, go to chapter 3 and answer the question posted at the end.


	7. Stag

A few days passed, nothing really eventful happened. We would all just hang out in vacant lots or at the park and chat. Ponyboy and Johnny were always really close to me. But I never minded. I started to notice things though, subtle things, like that Johnny where's a bit of cologne, or that it appears that Ponyboy's right ear was pierced or cut at one point- you know, little things. I guess it's because I'm a girl and hormones are causing me to become attracted and be looking for things. But I think they're noticing things too. Every so often one of them will make a comment on something about me; my hair, my clothes, my perfume, stuff like that. It's kind of nice. I don't know how much of it they noticed from being so close to me when they protected me and how much was from when they would sit back and watch me try on clothes. (Yes, I did take them clothes shopping with me.)

"Attention class, we will be holding a Saddie Hawkins Dance next Friday. Admission is one dollar, food and drinks will be provided. This is to be formal," the teacher announced one day in class. I thought of who I might like to go with; Johnny or Ponyboy would be good choices, but then there was also that popular guy in class- Gary I think….

"Oh, yes, and there are to be no out of school guests." Well, that shot down Johnny as one of my choices, which was pretty much a bummer. After class I met up with Ponyboy.

"I don't know what to do, Pony. The dance won't be any fun without at least both you and Johnny there," I said, leaning against the wall.

"Actually, I can't go at all. Friday is when I have to get all my work done or I can't do anything on the weekend. Plus I have no money," Ponyboy said.

"You've got to be kidding me! Now I can't take you OR Johnny? Who am I supposed to ask?" I said, absolutely devastated.

"Aw, come on Ruby. There are loads of guys at this school. At least one of them would wanna go with you," Ponyboy said, trying to cheer me up.

"But I don't want to go with anyone else! I wanna go with you and Johnny!" I said slumping against the wall.

"You know we would go if we could. But Johnny dropped out last semester and Darry will kill me if I try to go," Pony said sympathetically. I felt like crying, so I decided to go to the girls restroom and wash my face (and redo my make-up of course.) But when I got inside, I saw the girls from a few days ago.

"Are you alright?" the black haired one asked me, quickly coming to my side.

"Neither of the guys I wanna go with to the dance can come. And there's no one else I wanna go with!" I said, starting to cry.

"Aw! Don't feel bad, sugar. There are loads of girls who are going stag," the brown haired girl said, trying to comfort me.

"Stag?"

"Yeah! It means going by yourself. Just because you don't have a date doesn't mean you can't have fun! I mean, we're going stag and we're gonna have tons of fun dancing with each other!" the third girl, a carrot top, said with a smile.

"I dunno, I mean, I really wanna hang out with the guys and I don't really know anyone else," I said through my tears.

"Oh! Well, I'm Candis, and the red head is Lily and the brunette is Sandy," the black haired girl said, pointing to each girl.

"I'm Rose, but everyone calls me Ruby," I said with a nod before crying more. "I really wanna go with Johnny and Pony!" The girls came around and hugged me, trying to make me feel better. It was kind of different in comparison to when the guys hugged me; it was gentler and didn't smell like sweat or grass. It wasn't the same kind of comfort that I was used to. But it was something…

Later, I headed back home to start designing a dress for the dance. I wasn't sure if I was actually going to go, but it never hurts to have a nice dress. As I was sketching the design, I heard something outside. I looked out to find the guys about 20 yards in front of my house in the vacant area across the street. But they weren't alone. There were soc's with them. In fact, they were fighting. And I don't mean just arguing, I mean they were hitting and slashing at each other with knives and whatever else was around. I knew the guys wouldn't fight without a reason, unless it was Dally, but he wasn't in the group- it was Two-Bit, Steve, Soda, Pony and Johnny.

I was filled with horror when I saw one of them fall, and the others go after the attacker. I couldn't see who fell, but I knew it was one of my friends. For all I knew, they could have tripped or been pushed, but they could have also been stabbed and have fallen over. All I knew was that I was scared shitless. Then I remembered what Darry had said- 'she should have run to us and told us what was going on'. Now would be a good time to make up for my passed goof. So quickly asking the operator to connect me to the Curtis residence, I called up the only Curtis home.

"Hello?"

"Darry, it's Ruby. Your brothers and friends are in the middle of a brawl in front of my house and I'm pretty damn sure they're not doing too hot," I said as quickly as I could, looking out my window.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, they're doing what?" Darry sounded pissed.

"They're in a fight, I dunno! But you might wanna get over here!" and with that the line was dropped. Either it was Darry to the rescue or the guys were in some deep shit.

Authors Note: Sorry it's kind of short, but I finally had an idea and a way for me to finally get my romance scene to be up. Sorry if I'm not making sense, my brain is fried.


	8. First Real Kiss

Rosie Ruby

An Outsiders Fan-Fiction

It had been a long day for me. After that fight yesterday, I hadn't seen any of the guys. I was worried that they might have gotten hurt. Yet even though I was worried about all of them, I was mostly concerned about Johnny. It was strange to me that I had grown such an attachment to him. There was hardly a moment that I didn't think about him. Even if I tried not to think about him, my thoughts some how ended up going in that direction. It was as if my whole world revolved around him….

So I sat in my room, idly putting stitches into my stitch cloth as my mind wandered to thoughts of the gang and Johnny. I was too worried to work on my dress and was about ready to put away my things when I heard a tap at my window. I looked over to find the person who kept invading my mind sitting outside my window on the roof. I smiled and quickly opened up before looking Johnny over. As per usual, he sported his denim jacket and white tee and jeans. Unlike the norm, he had a band-aid on his right temple and his hand was wrapped up.

"Hey Ruby," He said with a shy smile.

"Hi Johnny. How are you doing?" I responded, my smile still shining through. He shrugged and sat on the windowsill, letting his legs dangle in my room.

"I'm doing alright," he said before looking around my room. "So this is what a girl's room looks like…" I couldn't help but laugh.

"I don't know about other girls, but this is what my room looks like. And I'd have thought you'd seen a bunch of girls rooms," I replied as I picked up a few things and threw them on the bed.

"Naw, I normally don't know where most girls live. The only reason I know where you do is 'cause we pick you up so much," he said before grabbing one of my stuffed animals and looking at it. "Aw, this one's cute." I looked to see him holding my purple teddy bear.

"That's Mister Cotton-Candy. I got him at the carnival," I said with a smile. Johnny hugged the bear before putting it back where he had found it.

"Did you get hurt too badly?" I asked, going over and gently taking Johnny's wrapped hand, looking at his bandaged palm.

"Not really. Just a few cuts and bruises, nothing too bad," he said, letting me hold his hand in both of mine.

"I worry about you when you guys get into those brawls. I always think something bad is gonna happen and one of you guys'll have to go to the hospital or something," I explain, idly thumbing the bandages on his palm.

"You don't have to worry too much, Rose. We're tough guys and it takes a lot to mess us up," Johnny said with a shrug. I look up in confusion.

"How do you know my name is Rose?" I asked before actually thinking about it. Ponyboy probably told him or something.

"I asked your mom the other day where you were, and she called you Rose. So I figured Ruby was a nick-name," Johnny said with a smile. I blushed before letting go of Johnny's hand. But before my hands dropped to my sides, one of them was captured by Johnny's good hand.

"Sit with me," he said, more of a request than an order. Figuring it wouldn't hurt, I got up next to him and sat on the sill, my legs hanging next to Johnny's. We sat there quietly, fingers laced together and just enjoying each other's company. Every so often I'd smile at him, and he'd smile back at me. It was a nice kind of quiet, but like all silences- it was eventually broken.

"So, Rose? Have you gotten yourself a boyfriend yet?" Johnny asked. It was a rather interesting question, but not one that I really had to think about though.

"No, I haven't. I'm sort of waiting for someone to ask me," I responded, kicking my legs thoughtlessly. There was another silence, but this one was a bit… awkward… Like the kind you sort of expect a cricket to chirp into, or like the kind that makes you wiggle uncomfortably.

But the awkwardness was quickly washed away, almost instantly in fact, when I felt something brush against my cheek. A gentle, nervous, quick peck worthy of a child's innocence. I looked over to see Johnny blushing and looking nervously at me. I smiled and gently placed a kiss over the scar on his cheek. He looked at me… no… he looked into my very soul; his deep brown eyes seemed to stare through my green ones and into my very core- into my heart. Everything seemed to finally fall into place; my confusion, my frustration, my crazed dreams, my everything made sense now. My constant day dreaming, my urges, my longings, the silly feelings I got, it all pointed to the same thing- love. My first love.

I don't know if he felt it like I did, I wasn't sure if his heart was fluttering like mine, I couldn't tell if I was the only one with the nagging urge to press my lips against his, but I was pretty sure that I wore my emotions on my face like an extremely expressive mask.

"Rose?" Johnny said, breaking me away from my inner thoughts.

"Yes, Johnny?" I asked. I was terribly afraid that he didn't feel the same way I did. After all, there were tons of girls out there- loads of fish in the sea, millions of stars in the sky, and there was only one of me. But my fears vanished when he spoke those five words.

"I want to kiss you," my heart soared and fireworks went off in my brain, but rather than express it like I really wanted to, I simply replied;

"I want you to kiss me." He smiled at me before leaning over and carefully pressed his lips against mine.

Never had I felt this light-hearted or had this strong of an urge to sing! My heart was a balloon with a string attached to my chest, the wings on my heels flapped like a flustered bird and the rest of me melted into this kiss. It felt so magical and wonderful that I never thought I would recover. But as all wonderful things do, it ended too soon. What felt like an eternity of romance was probably only a moment in real time.

"Wow," was the only thing I could manage to say.

"Yeah…" Johnny said, seeming as dreamy as I was.

"So…"

"Wanna do it again?" I had to think for only a moment about this.

"Absolutely!"

**Authors Note:** So, I had this done for a while, but I needed something to lead up to it, and the last chapter was a great excuse. And once I have the next romance scene done, then I'll put up a new question for you all to answer to get a sneek peek!


	9. Out and A Shout

Oddly enough, things didn't really change after my experience with Johnny. It was almost as if in never happened. I'm not quite sure if the guys knew what happened, sometimes it seemed like it did, but sometimes it seemed like they had no clue. All in all though, I knew it happened. Occasionally when we were alone, Johnny and I would kiss for a brief second and then act as if nothing happened. It was nice though, I didn't mind too much that Johnny was shy. But of course, someone was bound to find out.

"So how long have you and Johnny been going out?" Ponyboy asked me one day after class. I was a little startled.

"Who said we were going out?" I responded, sounding more convincing than I thought I could be.

"Neither of you need to say anything. You two are my best friends, I can read you both like an open book," the younger teen said, obviously not convinced at all. There wasn't really avoiding it.

"Johnny hasn't actually asked me out, yet. But we do kiss every so often," I explain to him quietly, so no one else can hear.

"Johnny pro'lly won't ask you. He's way to nervous to be that bold. And chances are he's too afraid that you'll say no," he replied with a shrug.

"So do I need to ask him out?" I really didn't want to be the one asking him out. I'm an old fashion girl, I prefer the guy asking me.

"Naw, it's embarrassing for a guy to be asked out by a girl. It's best you just keep doing what you're doing and enjoy it," Ponyboy explained. It's such a good thing I'm friends with guys; I would never be able to understand guys if I weren't. After that I went to the bathroom to… "powder my nose". Once I was done, I went to go clean up and I saw the girls.

"Hey, Ruby! Just the girl we wanted to see!" Candis said with a smile. "We were thinking of going shopping and we were wondering if you wanted to come with us." Me? Shopping with soc girls? I mean, it would be nice to finally be with some girls and do girly stuff. But these were soc girls, and I didn't want the guys to get the wrong idea.

"I dunno, I'd have to check with Pony and the others," I replied, very nervous.

"Aw, come on, Ruby. It's just for a day! It's not like we're gonna try to convert you or anything. After today you can hang out with the gr- er, I mean, you can hang out with you other friends as much as you want," Sandy begged. I had half a mind to snap at her for thinking of my friends poorly, but I know that they didn't know any better.

"Let me just tell Pony what I'm gonna do and then we can go." Yup, I caved. But you know what? I've been looking at a swim suit for quite a while and Johnny and Pony have been too nervous to let me try it on. So I might as well go with the girls.

After spending the entire day with the girls, I had gotten about 13 bags of clothes and other things, rather than the usual two or three when I was with the guys. But rather than dragging all my stuff home, I decided to head over to the Curtis residence. Hopefully the gang wasn't miffed at me for temporarily ditching them to be with girls. When I entered, everyone was sitting around watching Mickey Mouse. I set my many bags next to the door and plopped between Johnny and Pony.

"How was your shopping spree with the girls?" Ponyboy asked me, not taking his eyes off the TV.

"Tiring. But I had fun. I got a lot of clothes and stuff," I explained as I leaned on Johnny's shoulder, who ruffled my hair before resting his hand on my shoulder.

"That's cool. Maybe later you can show us some of your stuff," the youngest teen said with a yawn. I looked at my watch to see that it was 11 at night, pretty late. But my Mom knew I was here, so she was bound to come get me soon, or else I would end up sleeping on the couch here.

It was odd. I don't think I even realize I fell asleep until I woke up on the Curtis's couch. I looked around and saw that everyone who had stayed over, or who actually lived here, was still asleep. I quietly got off of the couch and grabbed my things before leaving. After I made it home and put everything away in my room, I decided to go on a walk. It was very early morning, early enough for the sun to just be barely over the horizon. The breeze was cold and crisp and nipped at my exposed arms. It was a beautiful morning, yet somehow I had a sinking feeling that today may not be as wonderful as I hoped it would be. Unfortunately, my gut feeling was absolutely right.

"Hey, traitor. What are you doing up this early?" It was one of the soc's from the other night. In fact, it was the same one that was picking a fight with Pony and Johnny after we were leaving from the movies. For the first time, he was alone.

"Nothing, I'm just walking," I said briefly, trying not to be trapped by this guy. Obviously he wouldn't have me escaping so easily.

"I'm gonna give you one more chance to pick the right side. You have no business hanging around trash like them," he said backing me up against a wall. I glared at him.

"What are you going to do if I don't change my side?" I inquired daringly. The smirk on his face sent chills up my spine as he leaned closer to me, his face next to my ear.

"I'll make it so no man will ever want to touch you," he growled. Before I could say anything, he dragged me to the closest ally way. Once back there, he through me next to/behind the dumpster.

"Since you insist on hanging out with trash, I might as well take care of you in trash," he growled, undoing his belt. I don't know why I wasn't screaming, kicking, punching, anything- it was like I was a deer caught in the headlights. After his belt was removed, he wrapped it around my torso and arms, obviously not wanting me to try to beat him up. He then lifted up my skirt and eyed my panties.

"I swear, if you go through with this, you will wish you were never born," I threatened, as if it would save me and my dignity… and virginity of course. But it only made the soc laugh.

"You're so-called friends won't even look at you once I'm don't with you," he said as he ran a finger along my covered warmth. He then reached up and grabbed the top of my panties and started pulling them down. That is finally when my body registered what was happening. (My body is weird, brain processes stuff before body. I should get that checked…) I started kicking and screaming as hard and loud as I could. But suddenly a rag was shoved in my mouth and a knife was positioned at my neck.

"Try that again and I'll cut you open, right here," he hissed. With tears in my eyes, I nodded. As my panties were completely removed and my legs were spread open, I begged, pleaded and preyed that someone- anyone, would come to my rescue. But as I felt him align himself with my opening, I knew…

No one was coming to save me.

I could feel my soul being ripped apart as he slammed himself into me, tearing apart my hymen in the process. Every time he pounded into me, a little bit more of myself was shredded. Every time he groped my breasts, I felt my innocents being ripped away from me. Every time he decided it would be fun to cut my leg, I knew that no one would look at me the same way again. I could imagine the looks on the guys faces when they found out; Steve and Dally with an expression of disgust, Ponyboy, Darry and Soda with a look of disappointment, and Johnny… oh Johnny! I sobbed out at the thought of him; his expression of shame and sadness, ashamed that he ever thought of me in a loving way. My heart broke as this monster poured his horrid fluid into my very core.

I don't know how long the process took, a few minuets, a few hours, a few seconds. But when it was over, I was left there- panties cast aside, skirt askew, legs bleeding and bruised, my face dirty and tear streaked and soul absolutely shattered. I'm also unsure of how long it took for me to actually get up and try to walk. I didn't bother with the underwear; I would never wear that pair again. I managed to get myself into a small pawn shop that happened to be open and beg the owner to let me use the phone. I dialed the number and waited for someone to pick up.

"Hello?" A groggy voice said on the other line.

"Mommy?"


	10. Been There

No, I didn't call the guys. No, I didn't call the police. Who did I call? My mother. Why? If you were a 15 year old girl and you just got raped, who would you want to go to for comfort? Not your boyfriend, you probably don't want anyone male touching you for a while. Not the police, no real comfort there. You call the person who has always been there for you, your mother. That's why I called my mom.

"Hello?" A groggy voice said on the other line.

"Mommy?"

"Honey…! Where have you been? You never came home!" my mom said as she started waking up more.

"Mommy, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to let him get me! I- he- oh Mommy!" I sobbed on the phone.

"Rose, sweety, calm down. Tell me what's wrong, baby," I could hear my mother's concern and confusion on the other line.

"Mommy, I've been raped," I said in almost a sob filled whisper.

"Where are you? I'm going to come get you."

"I-I'm at the pawn shop next to Denny's," I said with a tearful hick-up.

"This isn't your fault, sweety. I'm not mad at you and I love you, so just try to calm down so when we go to the police, you can explain what happened," my mom said before asking me to give the phone to the owner. They exchanged brief words before hanging up. The pawn shop owner had me sit in the back and brought me some water. It didn't take long for my mom to get to the shop, and when I saw her, I instantly ran to her and hugged her.

"Mommy! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to let this happen!" I sobbed into her breast, slightly comforted by her familiar and welcoming scent.

"It's okay, baby. Come on, let's take you home so you can get changed. We'll call the police from there and get a doctor to look at you," she said lovingly. I continued to cry as my mother ushered me into her car. When we got home, I changed into some pajamas with short sleeves on the bottoms so the doctor could look at me. My mom called the police, then the doctor. But I'm guessing she called someone else after that, because she talked longer than I thought she would. Within about ten minuets, I had the doctor looking and cleaning my legs while I was talked to by the police about what happened. And after about 20 minuets of that, they left me with the assurance that the "rapest" would be caught and that nothing was infected.

After everyone left, I slept. I felt horrible- I was so scared that the soc would come back for more or worse, my friends would leave me. I was awoken by a gentle knock at my door. I sat up sleepily and called a "Who is it?" out to the knocker.

"It's your mother dear. I hope you don't mind that I called your friends and explained what happened. They're all here wanting to see you," my mother's voice said, slightly muffled by the door.

Oh. Shit.

Well… I would have to tell them eventually. With a sigh, I told her to bring them up. Maybe one fourth of a second later, the guys were in my room- either sitting around or on my bed or standing around my room looking at my stuff. I only saw what they were doing, I dared not to look at their faces.

"Are you alright, Ruby?" I heard Soda ask.

"What happened? Who do we have to kill?" Dally demanded, making me flinch and he was apparently hit for it.

"Please, Rose, tell us what happened," I heard Johnny beg gently. With a sigh, I slowly and somewhat painfully explained what had happened to me. Once I had finished, I looked up, gathering enough courage to see their expressions. I was extremely shocked by what I saw. None of them looked disgusted. None of them looked disappointed. None of them looked ashamed.

They all looked as scared as I felt and as concerned as my mother was.

"Y-You don't think less of me?" I asked, not sure if I was hopeful or scared. Probably both… yeah, definitely both.

"Of course not, Ruby. What happened to you wasn't something you could help. _We've all been in that sort of place before_," Soda said comfortingly. I looked at everyone, and I realized something. These guys weren't like my friends back in California; they had all been there. They had all felt that sort of terror that I had felt. They had all felt the sort of shame that I had felt. They had all had run ins with soc's similar to how I had. Sure, none of them had been raped (I hope) but they had all been in a place extremely similar, if not almost exactly the same, as I had. They really had been there.

I sobbed, bringing my legs to my chest so I could bury my face in my knees. No one touched me, they all understood that I probably didn't want to be touched. Not after that. Not for a while. They all sat there quietly in respect… or maybe in mourning. Maybe they were mourning the loss of the little innocence that was in the group. Maybe they were mourning the deflowering of their precious rose. (Pun absolutely intended.) I didn't know nor did I have the emotional energy to question it. I only sat and sobbed, feeling safe in the presents of my dear friends. My friends who had all been there.

**AUTHORS NOTE: OMG, I am so sorry this is short. But seriously, this is hard to write without crying. And I'm sorry for the crappy title in the last chapter. Seriously, I was having a brain fart. But I am super thankful to everyone who is STILL reading this. I've started college, so it might take me longer to actually write anything. (Which is why I'm writing in the spur of the moment!) Keep reading!**


	11. Dates

Rosie Ruby

An Outsiders Fan-Fiction

I didn't go back to school for about a week after that event. I was too ashamed, too tired, and too scared. I knew that soc had gone to the same school as me, and I knew that he probably told everyone what happened. Bless their hearts, the Curtis brothers would come over and bring me my homework and check up on me. And Johnny would come everyday and help my mom around the house and with taking care of me. The other guys would come every so often and try to cheer me up; Dally brought some cards and taught me how to play poker, Two-Bit bought me a dilly bar and stuff like that. I'm telling you now, if you have even one friend like this, be thankful. I am blessed to have seven of them.

"I know you're still fragile about it and stuff, but I'm making it my business to beat the shit or kill who ever did this to you, Ruby. So could you point this guy out if you saw him?" Dally asked me one day over poker.

"His face haunts my nightmares and I had nothing else to look at when it was going on, I could tell you exactly who he was. Could I point him out on the street? No," I answered as I looked at my cards.

"What do you mean? You just said-" Dally was cut off when Johnny came in and gave him a look.

"If you got raped, would you want to be anywhere near the person who raped you?" Johnny asked, setting a bowl next to my bed. It probably was his awesome soup that I had been living off of all week. But Dally said nothing before sighing and sitting back on the floor.

"Alright, if I bring you a photo could you point him out?" he asked, running his fingers through his hair. I nodded and decided to fold. Dally gathered the cards again and shoved them in his pocket.

"Kay, so I'll get those pictures, but I think you and your boyfriend need to bond more," he said, only half teasing as he got up and left. I sat quietly in my bed, Johnny sitting on the foot of it. All the guys had been really respectful in not forcing me to do anything I was uncomfortable with, and that included sitting close to them. Though part of me wished that they would force me to get over it, but I knew they wouldn't do that. They were better than that.

"Hey, Johnny?" I asked, looking up at the tanned teen. He looked over at me to show he was listening. "What movies are out right now?" I almost always asked him what was going on outside, him and Pony.

"Well, there's this movie called 'Tammy and the Bachelor' that just came out. It looks pretty good. I was thinking if you were up for it I would take you to see it," Johnny said with a shy smile.

"Like a date?" the words left my mouth before I could take them back. Johnny and I were still in the place where we weren't quite dating, though little kissing had occurred since the incident. Johnny and I blushed.

"I-If you want it to be a date, it can be. I'll even take you to Dairy Queen if you'd like," he said, running his fingers through his hair. I smiled as I started to eat the soup he gave me.

Later in the evening, Ponyboy and Johnny came to visit again, Pony to help me with some homework, Johnny just to tag around. Half way through math I looked up at Johnny.

"What are you doing tonight?" I asked him. Both boys stopped what they were doing to look at me.

"Uh, I don't think I'm doing anything, why?" Johnny replied, loosely hugging Mr. Cotton-Candy.

"I'm thinking we could go on that date. I'm getting some cabin fever," I replied with a smile.

"Well, you're not going anywhere until we finish this math," Ponyboy said, though clearly he was happy to see me getting back to my old ways.

It wasn't 20 minuet before the boys were downstairs and I was changing into some of the new clothes I bought before the incident. When I came down, I was in a navy blue dress with white polka dots and a white cotton sweater, along with my favorite saddle shoes. I had tied up my hair, though my bangs still hung over my forehead and a curl had escaped and rested against my cheek.

"Well ain't you a doll?" Ponyboy said as Johnny whistled. "I'm not gonna stick around for this, you two should get some alone time. But if either of you get into trouble, Soda and Steve are gonna be at the movies too, but with their girls, so they'll help you out." By the time Pony finished talking, I was standing with them at the base of the stairs.

"I still gotta ask my mom if it's okay for me to go," I said, nodding towards the kitchen, where Mom normally resided for one reason or another.

"I already asked, she said that so long as I keep an eye on you and don't leave you alone that a date would be a great way to get you out of the house," Johnny said with a grin. I sighed and smiled before turning to Ponyboy.

"Are you gonna be alright walking home alone?" I asked. He shrugged and looked towards the kitchen. "I'll pro'lly hang around here until Darry picks me up. I used your phone to call him and let him know." I nodded before linking arms with Johnny.

"I'm going, Ma!" I called as I grabbed my purse, which matched my sweater. "Have fun!" she called back before we walked out. The two of us walked towards Dairy Queen, keeping close to each other out of safety and because we enjoyed each other's company.

"I feel sort of underdressed in comparison to you, Rose," Johnny said as we continued to walk.

"You look fine, Johnny," I reassured him, snuggling a bit closer.

"If you say so."

"I do say so."

We continued to tease and joke with each other all the way to Dairy Queen, when we got there, Johnny paid for our "dinner", which was just some chilly fries and a couple of milk shakes.

"You know, I've only seen you smoke once in the time I've known you," I said as I grabbed a fry.

"I usually don't unless I'm stressed or with the guys. I don't like smoking around you," he said before sipping his milkshake through the straw.

"Why not?"

"'Cause you don't smoke."

"Should I?"

"Don't, every girl I know who smokes turns out looking ugly later. I like how you look." Johnny's comment made me smile.

"You're sweet Johnny, that's why I like you. Along with other things," I said, tentatively reaching over and taking his hand. He blushed and gently squeezed my fingers. As we finished up eating I thought of something.

"I wonder when dates started getting called dates," I thought aloud as we walked out of Dairy Queen.

"What do you mean?" Johnny asked, linking arms with me and stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"I mean, I wonder when taking someone out for dinner and movies was called a date. 'Cause isn't there a fruit called a date?"

"Is there?"

"I think so, my mom was thinking of getting some for some recipe she was thinking of making. I dunno."

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**Authors Notes: Hey hey! Long time no see! Y'all can thank anxiety for this update. I've been having really bad anxiety, so my mom took me to the library to get me some books to busy my mind before bed. So I grabbed The Outsiders. And here we are, with another chapter. :3**


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